Street-cleaning apparatus.



PATENTED FEB. 25', 1908.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

lNVEN TOR,

G. H. BUTLER.

STREET CLEANING APPARATUS.

APPLIGATION FILED 00": 20,1904

W/TNESSES,

W n i PATENTED FEB. 25, 1908.

C. H. BUTLER.

STREET CLEANING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION PILID 001' 20, 1904 4 SHEETS-BBIEET 8.

No. 880,124. PATENTED FEB. 25, 1908. G. H. BUTLER.

STREET CLEANING APPARATUS APPLICATION FILED 001. 20, 1904.

7 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

CHARLES H. B'crLnn or OAKLAND, C LIFORNIA.

STREET-CLEANING APPARArus.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October ZQ| 1904- SBXiBl. ND. 229366:

Patented Feb. 25, 1908.

' T 0 all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. BUTLER, citizen of United States, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvement-sin Street-Cleaning Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved street cleaning apparatus.

The object of my invention is to provide a practical, sanitary dustless machine that wi ltl'ioroughly clean the street of every particle of fine dust or dirt and of all rubbish however coarse, without necessitating the wetting of the street, and which can be 0 .erated at eny time of day regardless of are c and without injury to the health of or incon' venience to the public.

The invention consists of the parts and the construction and combination of parts as hereinafter claimed, having reference ing drawings, in which Figure 1 1s a sideelevetion of my machine. F 2 is a. longitudinal section of' same. 3 is a top plan view of same, with top partly broken away, showing settling tubes. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of my machine.

A represents a suitable Wheeled truck or carriage adapted to be propelled or moved over the ground by any suitable means.

2 is a rotary brush or cylindrical broom of suitable constructipn mounted at the rear of the vehicle, and atright angles tot-he line of draft and arranged contiguous to the ground, with its under side adapted to turn in the direction of travel to brush up the. dirt directly ahead of it upon a hinged apron or dust pan 3 and into a trough 4 whence the dirt which finds lodgment there, is conveyed .upward and forward by a. suitable endless conveyer 5 to be de osited in suitable removable boxes or ii re receptacles 6 at the forward end of the machine.

The brush has its axle jourraled in the heads of a suitable cylindrical or hollow casin; 7 open at thefront and bottom and around which is'stretched a can vas or like covering. This casing prevents Ma y dirt that is picked up by the brush escqpin except through the forward opening which communicates with the passage 8 which the conveyor 5 operates. The weight-d the casing 7 and brush when in working position is supported on the ground by the small wheels or to-the accompanyrollers 9 journaled on the outside of the heads more fully described and.

of the casing. If desired. these rollers may be rubber shod to prevent rattle and to lessen jar to the brush and casing. The brush is adapted to acton the ground in the space between the lower rear edge of the casing, and the adj acentlowcr edge of the dust-.

pan or a ron3. Thelatterishinged to afixed part of t e vehicle frame and is free to drag along the ground at all times. The casing 7 however:- is supported in such fashion that while it may travel with the brush acting on the surface in the pro er manner of sweeping and with the lower e geof the 'casing reasonably close to the round for the ingress of air as will be described, it is adjustable vertically so that it can be raised on occasion'to lift the brush entirely clear of the ground, as where the vehicle is to be moved and it is not desired or it is not necessary to operate the brush. Any suitable means may be employed to attach the casing to' thezrest of the vehicle and to raise and lower it. In the present instance I have shown the casing as connected with the vehicle frame and arranged to trail behind the same by means of radius rods 101 1. The rods 10 are connected to the casing near its lower. edge and serve to holdthe brush in operative position on the ground. The rods 11 serve to maintain the axle of the brush always at a uniform distance from the shaft 12 so that the tension'of chain 13 which operates the brush will be maintained uniform.

The casin is suspended by flexible connections 14 mm small drums on the trans verse shaft 15, -the latter being rotated by any suitable means as the hand-wheel 16. A suitable pawl and ratchet l7 limits the movement of shaft 15 in one direction. By turnbrush and easing maybe raised clear of the ground turning about the pivots of the rods 101l. .Turnin the hand-wheel in the opposite direction lowers the brush into 0 erative position-with the principal weight of the brush and casing su ported on the rollers 9. By im arting motlon to the shaft 12 to rotate the lirush rapidly in the direction of the arrow Fig. 2, and movin the vehicle overthe ground, the dirt from t e street is swept up ahead of the brush and u on the apron 3 into the passage-way 8; the mower particles, stones, newspapers, bricks, horse shoes and the like being removed b means of the carrier 5 and delivered into t e boxes 6. The carrier 5 may be of any suitable de- 95 ing the hand-wheel 16 in one direction the,

scription adapted for the purpose. The finer and lighter particles of dust swept up by the brush and into the assage-way S are drawn therefrom through tlie air trunks 22 by means of suitable fans or aspirators 23 mounted on the apparatus, and delivered through passages 24 into the'dust chamber 25 locatedat the top of the vehicle. The air pressure-in the chamber 25 being reduced allows the dust to spread out and to settle into the openended cloth tubes 26which connect chamber 25 with an underneath passage-way 27. A conveyer 28 similar to conveyor 5 operates in passage 27 to carry' the settled particles of the dust forward into a second set of remov- 'able receptacles 6 similar to receptacles 6.

Any suitable means desired, mounted on the vehicle, may be employed to operate the brush, the fans and the several conveyors; but preferably these several instrumentalities are operated inde endently of the traction power, since but! the brush and fans should be revolved at a very high speed 4 while the rate of travel of the vehicle would connected be comparatively slow. -While any usual and well known means may be employed. to operate the conveyors I prefer to drivethem by thesame means which operate the brush and blowers. Accor 1y I have shown a motor 29 of the explosiv .engine type, suitably supported on the ve 'clc frame and having its shaft 30 with the shaft,12"by a belt 31. The brush is revolved through the medium of the chain 13 passing oversuitable sprockets on the brush axle an shaft 12, which latter is driven from slfaft 12" by gears 33 and 33. The fans are run from shaftl2 by means of a belt or. equivalent connection 34 assing around the pulley 35 on shaft 12 an a corres onding pulley on the fan shaft 35.

he'conveyers 5 and 28 are run from shaft 12 by suitable connections as indicated by the countershaft 36; chain '37 passin over sprockets on shafts l2 and 36; a secom chain 38 running from shaft 36 to a sprocket 20 on the shaft of upper conveyor. From the shaft of the sprocket 20' power is transmitted to operateconveyer 28 by means of a belt 39 and suitable connections.

The receptacles 6-45 are of such shape and size as to conveniently. lit in the vehicle and to be easily handled and may be inserted into a chamber in the vehicle frame, which.

chamber is closed by a suitable door 40 to prevent the escape of any dust-once it enters the machine during the operation of the latter. A suitable clut'ch mechanism 41 operated from the driver's seat by means of a lever 42, and convenient connections may be provided whereby the shaft 12" can be disconnected from the engine without stopping the latter powerful to cause a strong suction not only through the apparatus, but underneath the The fans 23 are sullic1cntly edges of the casing 7 so that every particle of dust that is loosened or agitated by the brush will be drawn into the apparatus.

The hinging of the dust pan 3 to the vehi-- cle frame and the pivotal attachment of the brush and casing to the vehicle allows the time the suction (evice cooperates in the manner described so that absolutely no dust esca es.

l hile the apparatus may be operated successfully on wetted pavements, it ispreferred to use 1t with the pavement perfctl ,dry,

,actual'practice having demonstrated t at by so doing the usualstree't litter and practically every particle of fine dust, is taken-up into and retained in the apparatus; a I

By disposing the brush straight across-the --vehicle, it operates directly on the ground to lift the dirt ahead of it and into the apparatus.- I laving thus described my invention, what i claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is V i 1. .In a street cleaning up 'aratus, thecombination of. wheeled-vchic eframe, a rotary brush carried thereby, acasing for said brush, an endless conveyor extending upwardly and forwardly and traveling in a passage-way formed in the vehicle frame, a receiving chamber for the material lifted veyer, an air trunk intersecting said conby said conveyer passa e-way, air induction-means in said air-tr cleanse the roadway, sail air-trunk extending forward of the vehicle, settling tubes connected with the air trunk, a conveyor receiving the collections from said settling tubes, a receptacle into which said conveyor discharges, means for rotati the brush and means for operating said air induction means.

2. In a street cleaning ap aratus, the combination of a wheeled-vehmi -frame a rotary brush carried thereby, said frame having a passage-we into which the material raised by the brus l is discharged, said passage-way having two branches, an endless conveyor cooperatin with the brush tov operating in one branch to carry the coarser deposits from the brush, air induction means in the other branch to convey the lighter particles raised by the brush, dry settling devices to which the material is delivered bysaid air induction means, and'separate receptacles for receiving the deposits from said conveyor and said air induction means, and means for operating the brush and the said air induction means.

3. In a street cleaning ap aratus, the com;

bination of a wheelcd-vehlc e, a rotary brush" carried thereby, an endless carrier operating in a. passage-way in the vehicle-frame, means for operating the brush to deliver material on to salcl'eonveyer, an air trunk connected with said passage-way intermediate of its ends, air induction means interposed in said airtrunk, settling tubes connected with said air trunk, and dust receptacles oarriedby the vehicle.

4. Innst-reet cleaning a pare'tus, the combination of a wheeled ve cle frame, 1a. 'mtary brush carried thereby, an endless eonveyer operating in a). passage-way in the vehicle. frame, means for-operatm the brush for delivering lnoteriail "onto suit conveyer, an

'nir trunk connected with the said passagewarv, air induction inea'ns'in said air trunk,

- settling tubes connected with said air trunk,

} n'sepamte conveyer receiving the collections from said settling tubes, anddirt receptacles into which said conveyors discharge.

,5. In; u. street cleaning machine at thecharacter described, :the :coiubination of a l.,w?ehile,.-a. rotarybrush, a. casing inye erreceiving-the heavier dehe .brush, menns 'oii the vehicle (I kleposits nirinduction means on the vehicle for conveying the finer sweepings of the brush, a receiver for said sweepings from the air induction means, means on the vehicle for settlin in a dry condition the sweepings of the hrus 1, and means for oper-v ating the brush, the conveyor and the air induction means.

' ,6'. In a street swee ing machine of the" ,ehs-racter described, tie combination of a wheeled vehicle,- a rotary brush, a casing therefor, n euns for operating the brush, an

air induction means coopersting' with the brush to gather the sweepings raised thereby,

a. receiver on the vehicle for said sweepi and means on the vehicle for settling ina condition the sweepmgs conveyed by send an induction means.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set' my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES-H BUTLER.

Witnesses:

' WiLLL-uuIDUNsrAN,

JOHN E. Gns'n-xrsox. 

